Teacher Yan Yanhong lifted a boy off the ground by his ears (photos and interview)

YAN Yanhong is the teacher seen on Weibo, the Chinese twitter, holding a pupil off the ground by his ears. Parents of pupils at the Wenling school are unimpressed. You can also see photos of Yanhong’s pupils wearing metal bins on their heads, having their mouths taped shut and hands stuck to a desk. Yanhong says the youngsters, some aged 6, “were just having fun”.

A quick check on Yanhong revealed that she had no formal teaching qualifications.

Offbeat China has seen an interview with Yanhjong. The journalist says 20-year-old Yan is in police custody:

Journalist: “You pulled up the boy’s ears because he misbehaved or something?”

Yan: “No, he didn’t do anything. I often play with him like this. We are good.”

Journalist: “ Didn’t you notice that he was crying?”

Yan: “It was really quick. All I wanted was to take a picture. I put him down immediately after the picture was taken.”

Journalist: “Was the boy one of the naughtiest in the class?”

Yan: “No, he wasn’t. I just thought he was funny. I was just horsing around him.”

Journalist: “When was the picture taken? Who took it for you?”

Yan: “About a month ago. To take this picture, I asked help from co-worker Tong Qing. She didn’t approve my action at the first. I told her that it was just for fun and it would take just a second.”

Journalist: “Why did you show the picture to parents?”

Yan: “I thought the picture was very interesting. When I talked with a parent via QQ a few days ago, I couldn’t help but share this picture. I didn’t expect such big reactions from the parents.”